(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to method manufacturing a panel for a liquid crystal display.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are one of the most widely used types of flat panel displays today. An LCD includes two panels provided with field-generating electrodes such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode and a liquid crystal (LC) layer interposed therebetween. The LCD displays images by applying voltages to the field-generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the LC layer, which determines orientations of LC molecules in the LC layer to adjust polarization of incident light.
Among the LCDs including field-generating electrodes on each of the panels, one type of LCD provides a plurality of pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix on one panel and a common electrode covering an entire surface of the other panel. In this type of LCD, image display is accomplished by separately applying voltages to the respective pixel electrodes. For application of the separated voltages, a plurality of three-terminal thin film transistors (TFTs) are connected to the respective pixel electrodes, and a plurality of gate lines transmitting signals for controlling the TFTs and a plurality of data lines transmitting voltages to be applied to the pixel electrodes are provided on the panel. In addition, a plurality of short points to electrically connect the two panels is formed on the panel having the gate and data lines, and the common electrode receives a predetermined signal via the short points.
According to a conventional method of fabricating the LCD, alignment films for aligning the liquid crystal molecules of the liquid crystal material are coated on the two panels and subjected to alignment treatment. Spacers are spread on one of the panels, and a sealant is printed along the periphery of the panel. The sealant has a liquid crystal injection hole, and the short points are printed along the periphery of the panel. The two panels are aligned and attached to each other by hot press. A liquid crystal material is injected between the two panels through the injection hole and the injection hole is sealed, thereby forming a liquid crystal cell.
Recently, a panel assembly made of one mother glass having a plurality of liquid crystal cell areas is manufactured to enhance the fabrication productivity. The panel assembly is separated into four, six, or eight liquid crystal cell areas by scribing the panel assembly before the injection of the liquid crystal material.
Although the size of the liquid crystal cell areas are similar to each other, the sealants are printed with different shapes, and the arrangement of the short points are different with respect to the panel assembly because of the differences of the structure of the liquid crystal cell areas. Due to these differences, a technician or operator has to identify a program among a plurality of programs for the formations of the sealant and the short points in the manufacturing process before executing the fabrication steps.
The human involvement results in generation of defects, as there are inevitably cases where incorrect program is selected. A method of efficiently fabricating the LCD panels with a lower error rate is desired.